The Letter
by jasonstoneface
Summary: When Tommy receives a devastating letter from Kimberly, he finds help from a surprising source.


Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Power Rangers. I have stated that in every other MMPR story I've done. So don't sue me.  
  
Author's Note: This is a sequel to "The Destruction of Master Vile." I am ignoring the other Power Ranger incarnations and will write stories based on the original series. This is my own personal universe. In my universe, Master Vile is dead, the Power Coins were never destroyed (I've made it so that they can't be destroyed. I won't mention that in my stories, but that's the way I see it.), there was no Zeo Quest, Aisha never went to Africa, and Tanya doesn't exist. Neither does David. Tommy is the White Ranger and leader, Billy is Blue, Adam is Black, Kat is Pink, Aisha is Yellow, and Rocky is Red. Ninjor is dead, but his spirit still guards the Temple of Power. This will come into play in a future story. The zords are the Ninja and Shogun Zords. The villains are Rita, Zedd, their minions, and the Tengas. This is my version of the "Letter" story. Being a Tommy/Kat fan, I've got to have some excuse to put them together. I won't do it right away, but I am going to do it. I actually considered killing off Kimberly, but I quickly changed my mind. I knew that if I did, I'd get criticized mightily. The letter parts are in for readability and distinguishability.  
  
The Letter  
  
By Jason Adams  
  
It was the middle of spring on a beautiful Saturday in Angel Grove. Ever since the Orb of Doom's effects were reversed and Master Vile destroyed about a week ago, the Power Rangers haven't seen much action. They are grateful for this rare free time, but know that any moment, Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa could start another attack. For this, they must always be prepared.  
  
Kimberly has been in Florida for almost four months now, training for the Pan Global Games. Even though she and Tommy haven't seen each other since she left, they have maintained a good long distance relationship. Little does the White Ranger realize that his world is about to come crashing down.  
  
Tommy was on the weight bench at the Youth Center loosening up. Adam was spotting him while Rocky watched. Rocky clapped his hands twice. "Alright, man, you got two more sets. You ready?"  
  
"Yeah, I was born ready," responded Tommy, ready for the challenge.  
  
As he was lifting, Billy, along with Katherine and Aisha, were approaching them. Billy was holding and envelope.  
  
"Come on, Tommy, one more. Come on!" encouraged Adam as Tommy tried to make the last lift of his set. He did it, and Adam put the barbells back in their place. "Good job," complimented the Black Ranger.  
  
When Billy, Kat, and Aisha got to the weight bench, Tommy said, "Hey, guys, what's up?"  
  
"Hey," greeted Kat in her sweet Australian accent.  
  
Billy then spoke up. "Hey, Tommy, since your mom's out of town today, I got your mail like you asked me to. A letter came for you today. It's from Kimberly."  
  
"Alright, cool!" said Tommy with glee. "Hey, Billy, will you do me a favor and read it? I have one more set to do."  
  
"You got it," answered the Blue Ranger.  
  
"Thanks, man," said Tommy appreciatively. Billy opened the envelope and began to read the letter aloud.  
  
Dear Tommy  
  
Everything is going great here in Florida. Coach Schmidt has me as ready as I'll ever be for the competition.  
  
Rocky interrupted and said, "Man, Kimberly is going to do great!"  
  
Aisha then asked, "What else does she say?"  
  
After finding his place, Billy continued. He found himself uncomfortable with what he read next.  
  
Tommy, this is the hardest letter I've ever had to write. You've always been my best friend and, in some ways, you're like a brother. But something has happened here that I can't explain. It's both been wonderful and painful at the same time. Tommy, I've met someone else.  
  
Everyone looked on in disbelief. "What?" asked Kat. "That can't be right."  
  
Billy said, "Tommy, maybe you should finish this another time."  
  
Having just finished his set, Tommy took the letter and said, "Let me see." He continued to read it out loud himself.  
  
Tommy, you know I would never do anything to hurt you. But I feel like I've found the person that I belong with. He's wonderful, kind, and caring. You'd really like him.  
  
Everything would be perfect if it weren't for hurting you. But I have to follow my heart. I will always care about you, Tommy.  
  
Please, forgive me.  
  
Kimberly  
  
Tommy placed the letter back into the envelope. The others were speechless. Finally, Billy asked, "Hey, man, you okay?"  
  
Tommy sighed and said, "I just want to be alone right now." He got up and walked out.  
  
Tommy went to Angel Grove Park, looking over the lake. He thought about all the great times he'd had with Kimberly, both as Power Rangers and as high school sweeties. The more he thought about it, the more crushed he was by the letter.  
  
Kat slowly approached him and asked, "Tommy, are you alright?"  
  
Tommy turned to face her. "I just don't understand what went wrong. I mean, it was such a perfect relationship. I thought we'd be together forever. I guess I was wrong."  
  
Not sure what to say next, Kat just asked, "Will you be alright?"  
  
"I will be," answered the White Ranger. "Right now, I just want to be left alone." Kat nodded and walked away. She didn't know Kimberly as well as the others did, but she knew how much she meant to Tommy. After all, she had almost killed the former Pink Ranger while under one of Rita's spells.  
  
Two weeks passed by, but it seemed like two years to Tommy. He wouldn't talk to his friends, he had trouble focusing when teaching his karate class, he wouldn't even talk to his mother. He didn't speak unless it was in battle, or if he absolutely had to. To put it mildly, Tommy was depressed.  
  
On Friday, when he got home from school, he was surprised to find him mom home. She was sitting in her chair in the living room. "Mom?" he questioned. "You're home early."  
  
She smiled and said, "I got finished early. Tommy, I need to talk to you."  
  
"What for?" he asked, not really understanding what was going on.  
  
His mom took a deep breath and said, "It's about the letter."  
  
Tommy was shocked. He stuttered, "How. . . how did you. . .?"  
  
"I ran into your friend Billy while coming home yesterday," she interrupted. "He spilled the beans."  
  
"Oh," was all Tommy could say as he sat on the couch across from her.  
  
Mrs. Oliver said, "He told me about the letter you received two weeks ago. About how Kimberly broke up with you." Tommy's head sank as she continued. "You haven't talked to me or your friends since then. And now that I know what the problem is, I felt we needed to talk about it. I felt the same way you're feeling right now when your father and I divorced."  
  
Tommy looked up at her and asked, "How could you, mom? He was abusive, you know that."  
  
Mrs. Oliver nodded and said, "But he wasn't always that way. When we met, he was the kindest man you could ever meet. He started drinking shortly after your sister was born. He beat me, he cursed me, he cursed you and your sister. When I finally got the nerve to file for divorce, it still wasn't easy. When it was finalized, I was crushed. I was depressed for a long time. That's why I put you and your sister up for adoption. I needed to deal with the depression on my own. I didn't have any friends who truly understood what I was going through. He was my first love, just like Kimberly was your first love. I thought I could never love again, but now I believe I can, even though I haven't found anyone yet. He can't hurt us anymore because he's now serving life in jail. I am most grateful that you have not turned out like him. And I know that you can love again."  
  
"How, mom?" Tommy asked. "After all the wonderful times I had with Kimberly, how could I even think of loving again?"  
  
Mrs. Oliver leaned closer to him. "There was something my teacher used to say: If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, it's yours. If it doesn't, it never was.* You loved Kimberly. You set her free when she left for Florida. And now the letter she sent you shows that you two weren't meant to be together."  
  
(*Author's Note: Mrs. Downer, one of my high school teachers had a poster that said that. I honestly believe that.)  
  
Tommy looked at his mother. "You think so?"  
  
She smiled, put a hand on his shoulder, and said, "I know so."  
  
Tommy then started thinking of his sister. "Speaking of Jenny, will we ever see her again?"  
  
Mrs. Oliver smiled again. "I hope so. Right now, I'm working on obtaining custody of her. I'll let you know if I succeed." She then got up to prepare dinner.  
  
As she was walking toward the kitchen, Tommy asked, "Mom?" She turned to him and he said while smiling, "Thank you for giving me this new perspective."  
  
Mrs. Oliver smiled and said, "I'm glad I could help."  
  
The next day when Tommy went to the Youth Center, he started talking with his friends again, making jokes and sparring with them. He even bought smoothies for all of them. The others were surprised by his sudden good mood. He told them of the talk he'd had with his mom last night. It was obvious that he still wasn't over Kimberly (and probably never would be) but he was feeling more or less his old self again. This was a big relief to his friends.  
  
The six friends were laughing and drinking their smoothies when Bulk and Skull came in with some pieces of junk. Aisha noticed this and asked, "Hey, guys, aren't you supposed to be at the Police Station?"  
  
"Heck, no," said Bulk. "Haven't you heard? We won the lottery!"  
  
"Yeah," said Skull. "And now that we don't have to worry about money, we're going to be spending our time trying to figure out who the Power Rangers really are!" They had repeated some grades in school, so they were old enough to buy lottery tickets.  
  
Billy said, "You two spent a whole year trying to figure out who the Power Rangers are and you never succeeded. What makes you think you could do it now?"  
  
"Perseverance, science dweeb," said Bulk. "Even if it takes forever, we are going to find out who the Power Rangers really are, right, Skull?"  
  
"Yeah," said his longtime friend. They then took off to another part of the Youth Center to work on a plan.  
  
When they were gone, Tommy smiled and said, "It's great to see that some things never change."  
  
"You can say that again," agreed Adam. The teens laughed and continued drinking their smoothies. 


End file.
